I have an ancillary retirement fund that I used to buy a few stocks when the market was down a few years ago. I have been unwinding positions of one of the stocks since it was up 300-400% over the past two years. Once the market settles I will reinvest.

As far as the economy goes, I consider myself to be very lucky. I have a great job with growth potential in the financial services field. The Bank I work for got out of the toxic CDO market a few years before the market burst and has been solid the past few years. They did not take any TARP money and was not a part of any government bailout. And that is why their rating is now better than the United States :happysad: